Passenger rail can help reduce traffic congestion

Transport Minister Blade Nzimande says he does not understand why there is still not a passenger train available to travel from Johannesburg past Polokwane and right through to Zimbabwe.

Nzimande, who released the preliminary road safety report on Thursday says the country is still not investing enough in passenger rail transport, which is an option needed to reduce the traffic congestion on the roads.

According to the report 767 people have been killed on South Africa’s roads so far this festive period, with 89 of these killed on Limpopo roads, while 82 were in Mpumalanga with the largest road fatalities being KwaZulu-Natal with 162 lives lost.

Nzimande says they are not giving up on finding more alternatives to help reduce road fatalities.